Taiwan ranked second in the latest global e-government survey, which was conducted during June and July this year by evaluating 1,782 government Web sites of 198 countries.
The report disclosed that researchers found in the latest survey that "many nations are improving services and providing information for users."
Taiwan earned a 49.8 score in the just-released study, 7.4 points less than the 57.2 points it scored last year when the country topped the survey.
The study noted that "Taiwan boasts an easily navigable Web site. Its aesthetically pleasing design makes the site seem more personable as a government Web site."
It particularly praised the "site map and language options located on the top portion of the site" and noted that "Taiwan's Web sites are updated frequently, so users can sign up to receive newsletters from each site."
Conducted by Professor Darrel M. West and a team of researchers, the global survey rating each country's government Web sites based on two dozen criteria, including disability access, the existence of publications and databases, the presence of privacy policies, security policies, contact information, and the number of online services, the report explained.
It unveiled that a variety of different sites were analyzed including executive, legislative and judicial offices as well as departments and ministries of the government such as health, education, foreign affairs, interior, finance, natural resources, foreign investment, transportation, military, tourism and telecommunications.
Asian countries once again dominated the e-government ratings, taking three of the top five spots in the study. Besides South Korea and Taiwan, Singapore ranked third in the survey, followed by the U.S., which was the highest-rayed non-Asian country.
Canada ranked fifth, with Great Britain, Ireland, Germany, Japan and Spain finishing sixth through 10th.
While South Korea rose dramatically, the People's Republic of China plummeted to 76th after finishing fifth last year. The report on the survey did not specifically mention the reasons for the large change in fortunes for either country, but did say that "Korea's sites feature an impressive level of organization and offer a wealth of information and services. The eGov portal site alone provides users with over 500 services executable online."
West and his team started the annual survey on international e-government services in 2001.
Autor(en)/Author(s): Lu Chia-ying
Quelle/Source: Taiwan News, 08.08.2006
